Peek-a-boo!
Posted on 12. Feb, 2008 by DocDelete in PhotoStuff
I went to the Brum Flickrmeet last Sunday, with photochum Andy, to view the Chinese New Year festivities at The Arcadian precinct. It was our first such trip, and we’ve since discussed a few points, which I’ll share with all three of my readers…
- The Flickrmeets are useful in helping to find something different, colourful and interesting to take photos of.
- Being surrounded by people with cameras gives more confidence, especially when photographing other people – something we’re all becoming very wary of. Andy was still uncomfortable taking photos of the crowd when kids were involved, but long lenses help to mask the actual intent. I think this says more about our newest cultural norms, rather than any issues Andy may have.
- At some points we felt like we were “taking photos for taking photos’ sake”, which you could argue is the objective. My guess is that this was heightened by being hemmed into one spot, and unable to move due to the crowd. Or, at least, feeling very inhibited about moving. Next time we need to move around to get different perspectives. Our site was initially very good, but soon turned into a liability.
- Andy was happier photographing the crowd, I felt the same at the time but felt completely different when processing the pics. I feel my performance ones are stronger.
- I was a bit deflated as I knew I was taking blurred shots (slowish zoom lens; forgot to take protective filter off; a monopod or IS lens would’ve been the cure). However, I felt better later when cropping for composition.
- Preparation is key with this stuff – particularly as far as location is concerned – a recce beforehand and a clear idea of the running order and location of the various events would really help.
- Due to the day’s schedule we couldn’t hang around to chat properly with the FlickrMob, though we hope to rectify that in due course.
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